The present invention relates to a tape drive device suited to an apparatus such as a tape recorder or data recorder that performs information read/write with respect to an information storage tape (magnetic tape) housed inside a cartridge which is set inside the tape drive device. Further the present invention relates to an apparatus for loading the cartridge into an apparatus for driving an information recording tape. The cartridge has a case, the inside of which is a pair of spools that are freely rotatable around shafts, an information recording tape wound from the end of both spools and in opposite directions, a drive roller that has its rotating surface exposed from a window opening opened in the front surface of the case, and a rotation transmission mechanism to transmit the rotation of the drive roller in the same direction as the pair of spools. The rotation of the drive roller causes the information recording tape on one of the spools to be wound onto the other spool. The cartridge loaded into the apparatus for driving the tape has lock concave parts formed at front lower portion of both sides of the case.
The structure of an existing cartridge of the above construction is indicated more specifically in FIG. 1, FIG. 2, FIG. 3A and FIG. 3B. The cartridge in which this information recording tape is housed is called a data cartridge for example.
FIG. 1 is a perspective view indicating the outer appearance of a data cartridge 5, and FIG. 2 is a perspective view indicating the outer appearance of the front surface portion of the data cartridge 5. Guide rails 6a and 6b are formed at both ends of a case 6, and a lower wall portion of the front portion of each of the guide rails 6a and 6b is cut out to form lock concave parts 7a and 7b (lock concave part 7b cannot be seen in the figure). The front surface portion of the case 6 has a window opening 6c formed in it and a lid 8 is formed with respect to this window opening 6c. The circumferential surface of a drive roller 9 provided inside the case 6 is exposed from this window opening 6c and the lid 8 is axially supported so as to be arbitrarily rotatable around the front corner of the case 6. The lid 8 is normally in the closed state and prevents the entry of dust and the like into the case 6. The lid 8 rotates around the center of the support shaft when an end portion 8a of the lid 8 is pressed, and the information recording tape (hereinafter, simply termed "tape") inside the case is exposed from the opening when it is released (Refer to FIG. 2).
The internal structure of the data cartridge 5 is shown in FIG. 3A and FIG. 3B. Inside the case 6 are provided a pair of spools 12 and 13 supported so as to be arbitrarily rotatable about their shafts, a drive roller 9, and guide rollers 14 and 15. The tape 11 wound around the spool 12 passes the tension rollers 17 and 18 and is wound up by the other spool 13. The drive roller 9 and the guide rollers 14 and 15 engage a drive belt 16 so that the drive belt 16 presses against the surface of the tape wound around the spools 12 and 13. By this, the drive roller 9 rotates and moves the drive belt 16 so that a force is applied to the tape at the portions 11a and 11b in the direction contact with the drive belt 16, and the pair of spools 12 and 13 rotate in the same direction. Then, the rotation of the spools 12 and 13 in the same direction causes the tape to be wound from one of the spools onto the other the spools and when this occurs, the tape is said to be in a tape run status between each of the tension rollers 17 and 18.
In a data cartridge having a structure such as described above, the internal tape 11 is driven by the transmission of a rotational force with respect to the drive roller 9. A conventional type of tape drive apparatus for the transmission of this rotational force to this drive roller is disclosed in Japanese Patent Publication No. 14976/1977 (Japanese Patent Laid Open Application No. 5517/1973), for example. The data drive apparatus according to this disclosure has, the structure which is either such that a rotational force of the motor is transmitted to the drive roller inside the data cartridge via a belt, pulleys and other force transmission parts, or such that a roller mounted on the motor shaft extending from the main motor body (and including the stator and the rotor) and extending in the upwards direction, presses against a drive roller inside the data cartridge.
In a conventional tape drive apparatus as has been described above, many parts are required for the mechanism to transmit the rotational force from the motor to the drive roller inside the cartridge. In those apparatus having a structure where a roller mounted to the rotor shaft of the motor presses against a drive roller inside the cartridge, the roller is mounted to a portion (a rotor portion) projecting further out from the main motor body and so more space is required to accommodate this extra height. For these reasons, a larger number of processes and higher costs are therefore required to assemble equipment such as tape recorders and data recorders into which conventional tape drive apparatus are incorporated, and it is also difficult to make the products compact and in particular, thin.
In a conventional mechanism loading a cartridge into an apparatus for driving an information recording tape, when the cartridge is loaded into the apparatus, a press mechanism engages and presses lock concave parts 7a, 7b formed at front lower portions of sidewalls thereof from under side of the case to thereby hold the case stationary. The structure in which the press mechanism presses the case from under side of it prevents the products from being made compact and in particular thin.